


Hazy Cosmic Jive

by hopeless_eccentric



Series: (Free! That's right! Free!) Penumbra Commissions [39]
Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Alien AU, Aliens, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Intimacy, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Other, Psychic Abilities, Psychic Bond, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, ok but hear me out. psychic link with your partner while cuddling, tell me that isnt the cutest shit youve heard all day, this is really just what if juno was an alien and got Cuddling Plus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:53:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28825506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopeless_eccentric/pseuds/hopeless_eccentric
Summary: “Shut the hell up.”“I would—” Nureyev broke off to stifle a yawn. “But it seems this psychic link of yours is telling me that you want nothing more than to hear my dulcet tones for the rest of your entire life.”“That’s not how it works, moron,” Juno chuckled, though his huff blurred into a pleasant sound when Nureyev leaned up to kiss his forehead.“I assume that’s ‘moron’ as a term of endearment,” Nureyev grinned. “It certainly feels that way.”“You’re enjoying this way too much,” Juno groaned.Free comm for @chocolatetacopsychicsuitcase on tumblr!!
Relationships: Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel
Series: (Free! That's right! Free!) Penumbra Commissions [39]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1921492
Comments: 36
Kudos: 146





	Hazy Cosmic Jive

**Author's Note:**

> hey all!! enjoy the fluff, this is a nice one! for anyone wanting a bit of context, im not a particularly good worldbuilder so i took essentially the hand-on-hand psychic link thing from Mantis in guardians of the galaxy. also i think juno would be cute with antennae. sue me. no content warnings, actually!! just enjoy some slightly weird cuddling

Juno tried not to get too involved in ancient politics, but he was pretty sure the Xenobiological Equal Rights Act of 2954 might as well have been tailored for him specifically. He’d cut the day they were supposed to cover most of it in school, but with enough context clues and boredom, he managed to piece together some kind of argument about how not all alien species are the same, some humanoid ones are raised in human societies, and some act hardly a thing like what their ‘ability set’ would suggest.

He was pretty sure that at some point in his creation, a few incorrect switches had been flipped. He liked to think of himself as abrasive and self reliant and better off by himself, and yet, he just had to end up as one of those antennaed, psychology major-bound assholes who put most self-proclaimed empaths to shame.

It wasn’t necessarily a difficult thing to hide. When skin-on-skin contact would threaten to give him an unwanted flash of somebody else’s tangled knot of emotions, there was always the option of yanking his hand away or avoiding the situation altogether with gloves. He had every right in the world to keep his nose miles away from anybody else’s business, not because he didn’t have a dangerously wide curious streak, but because he wasn’t paid nearly enough to feel anybody else’s feelings for himself when they couldn’t help him bust open a case.

Juno didn’t remember where he had left the gloves, but he didn’t doubt at least one of them was loose in the Martian desert somewhere. He hadn’t really kept track. However, by the time he saw Rita in that sewer again, he didn’t mind that he could feel her fear squirming in his chest when they embraced, because he knew she could feel his relief right back.

There were times he regretted leaving his hands open for the psychic link, especially after the hard-made decision not to buy any replacement gloves before boarding the Carte Blanche. He hadn’t ever wanted to feel a jolt of something cold and bitter upon brushing hands with Nureyev, and he doubted that before their conversation, Nureyev wanted to know the warmth of hope blooming and dying in cycles between Juno’s ribs.

For once, however, it seemed that fate decided to make an ashtray of someone else, and somehow, Juno managed to find himself tangled in the arms of Peter Nureyev once more, unsure of whose pulse had slowed first and whose gentle exhaustion was beginning to drive them both towards sleep.

“Nureyev,” Juno started with a yawn, losing his train of thought altogether when Nureyev met his gaze across the pillow with a lazy smile that might have been the loveliest thing Juno had ever set eyes upon. He only prayed the pleasant warmth in his chest that blossomed at the sight had translated for Nureyev as well.

“And to think you call me lovesick,” Nureyev chuckled, confirming every one of his suspicions. “Does that happen every time I smile at you, or just on poetry night?”

Juno snorted.

“Shut the hell up.”

“I would—” Nureyev broke off to stifle a yawn. “But it seems this psychic link of yours is telling me that you want nothing more than to hear my dulcet tones for the rest of your entire life.”

“That’s not how it works, moron,” Juno chuckled, though his huff blurred into a pleasant sound when Nureyev leaned up to kiss his forehead.

“I assume that’s ‘moron’ as a term of endearment,” Nureyev grinned. “It certainly feels that way.”

“You’re enjoying this way too much,” Juno groaned.

Nureyev seemed determined to break Juno’s glare, for he pressed another kiss to Juno’s forehead, one to each antennae, and then one to his lips. Juno made a point of letting him linger at that last destination, pressing him a little closer and reveling in the warm, adoring feeling he so seldom experienced in reference to himself. Even secondhand, he supposed he didn’t mind a certain level of self-appreciation.

“Did you just kiss my antennae?” Juno snorted when Nureyev, tragically, broke for air.

“I doubt you of all people would object to my mission to worship every inch of you,” Nureyev teased, punctuating the sound of Juno’s grumble with a kiss to his nose that Juno couldn’t even pretend to dislike.

“You’re such a nerd,” he snorted.

“Is that an objection?”

“You know it’s not an objection,” Juno chuckled.

“Very well then,” Nureyev smiled, though it blurred into the sweetest yawn Juno might have heard in his entire life. “Perhaps this will have to be a mission for tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I was gonna ask—” Juno broke off with his own yawn, unsure if it was sympathetic because of the psychic link or just because of how warm and soft and gentle Nureyev’s embrace happened to be. “How long has it been since you’ve slept? God, you feel awful.”

“Should I be offended?”

“Answer the question,” Juno huffed. “And answer it quick, you’re making me tired.”

“Love,” Nureyev chuckled. “You don’t have to hold me, you know.”

“I wanna,” Juno grumbled into his chest as he pressed closer, experiencing the laugh that bubbled past Nureyev’s lips twice over between the sound of it blooming just under his ear and the warm, fond sensation in his chest that echoed it. “You’re a good cuddler.”

“So you admit you were lying when you referred to me as—what was it?” Nureyev paused with feigned thoughtfulness. “The only person you had ever met whose pelvis could be felt through—”

“Shut up,” Juno huffed, though it blurred into a laugh. Either way, it was muffled into Nureyev’s chest as Peter pulled him closer, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of his head. “Just answer the goddamn question.”

“I’ve been sleeping much better than usual,” Nureyev began slowly. “I suppose sleeping with someone makes the matter easier.”

“Gross.”

“Love,” Nureyev chuckled. “You’re putting words in my mouth. If I’m being wholly honest, I enjoy the intimacy of the link. I didn’t ever expect to, especially with my reservations about privacy and whatnot, but I suppose there is a certain value in sharing unspoken feelings with another person.”

“Sap,” Juno accused, yawning out the word. He didn’t miss the soft, gentle wave of warmth from Nureyev’s chest at the gesture. Had he been a little less tired, he might have had some offended remark at the fact that Nureyev, apparently, found him cute.

“Besides,” Nureyev started again, pausing to press another kiss between Juno’s antennae. “I like feeling how much you love me.”

“Nureyev,” Juno breathed.

“Dear Lord, that was potent,” Peter grimaced before Juno could get another word out. When Juno raised a concerned brow, he merely shook his head and laughed. “It’s difficult feeling incredibly fond of someone twice over.”

“Do you want me to like—” Juno broke off to snort. “Start hating you or something?”

“Oh, do be quiet,” Nureyev chuckled, squeezing Juno a little closer as he did so.

“Just making sure,” Juno yawned.

“Am I truly making you that tired?”

Juno tried a glare, but from the new bloom of affection in his chest, he guessed Nureyev found it no less adorable than his former yawn. 

“Shut up,” Juno snorted, tugging Nureyev closer by the arm that had flopped over his waist. “Either that or I’m just allowed to be worn out from hours of dealing with just how goddamn warm you are. Someone’s gotta call the Prince of Mars and tell him we’ve found the best damn sleep aid in the galaxy.”

“I don’t know how well I would work as an over the counter product, my love,” Nureyev chuckled. He paused to stifle a yawn before continuing. “I’ve always considered myself to be quite the luxury.”

Juno groaned, though not without affection. Nureyev merely let out a fond laugh and continued the gentle arc of his hand, running up and down the curve of his spine.

Maybe it made him a sap, but Juno had to admit, there were worse feelings in the world than someone else’s affectionate heart beating side by side with his own. He couldn’t be sure which one of them dragged the other under first, but by the time Nureyev’s hand went comfortably limp on the small of his back, he could do little more than give his other hand a tight squeeze and ensure he followed suit himself.

**Author's Note:**

> man :,)
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading!! Make sure to SMASH that kudos button and leave a comment down below stay awesome gamers
> 
> Check me out on tumblr @hopeless-eccentric or on twitter @withane22 !!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [you can hold my hand (if no one's home)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28828305) by [SarcasticSargassum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SarcasticSargassum/pseuds/SarcasticSargassum)




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